Marcus Brooks

{{Short description|Fictional character, The Bear TV series}} {{use mdy dates|date=September 2025|cs1-dates=ly}} {{use American English|date=September 2025}} {{Infobox character | image = Lionel Boyce as Marcus Brooks on The Bear TV series.jpeg | portrayer = Lionel Boyce | full_name = Marcus Brooks | nickname = | occupation = }}

'''Marcus Brooks''' is a fictional character on the FX Network television series ''The Bear''. Created by Christopher Storer and played by Lionel Boyce since the show's premiere in 2022, Marcus was the bread baker at the Original Beef of Chicagoland sandwich shop under owner Mikey Berzatto (Jon Bernthal). After Mikey's death, his brother Carmy Berzatto (Jeremy Allen White) took over the restaurant and encouraged Marcus' interest in pastry.

== Biography == Marcus is a beloved and essential figure at the Berzatto family restaurants.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Lamour |first=Joseph |date=2024-01-31 |title='The Bear' star Lionel Boyce is excited to film Season 3: It's like 'summer camp' |url=https://www.today.com/food/people/the-bear-lionel-boyce-season-3-rcna136598 |access-date=2025-09-19 |website=TODAY.com |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":4">{{Cite web |last=Jahmal |first=Karlton |date=2025-06-19 |title=Before "The Bear" Season 4 Drops, Here's A Quick Character Recap |url=https://www.buzzfeed.com/karltonjahmal/the-bear-season-4-quick-character-recap |access-date=2025-10-18 |website=BuzzFeed |language=en}}</ref> New owner Carmy, in company with his culinary soulmate Sydney Adamu (Ayo Edebiri), is dedicated to nurturing the staff he inherited from his brother; according to one critic, "It isn't a coincidence that Carmy's biological family is portrayed as an acidic, toxic hindrance to his career, and that the [family] he's created for his team—via his network of chefs—is the literal opposite."<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |last=Abad-Santos |first=Alex |date=2023-06-30 |title=The Bear's second season is about the people it takes to make you great |url=https://www.vox.com/culture/2023/6/30/23780059/the-bear-season-2-review-carmy-talent-emmys-winner |access-date=2025-09-19 |website=Vox |language=en-US}}</ref> This impulse to nurture working-class staffers like Marcus, Tina, and Richie and invest in training them in specialized skills distinguishes Carmy and Syd from their more capitalistic or corporatized restaurant executive peers; "The owners and managers (good ones at least) are positive forces of change in their employees lives. The more a business feels safe and familiar, the better chance it has at success."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Mendez |date=June 30, 2025 |first=Moises II |title=Why 'The Bear' is queerer than it seems |url=https://www.out.com/gay-news/the-bear-found-family-queer |access-date=2025-09-19 |website=www.out.com |language=en}}</ref> Marcus played NCAA Division III college football, his position was outside linebacker.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |last=admin |date=2023-06-23 |title=The Bear - S02E04 - Honeydew {{!}} Transcript |url=https://scrapsfromtheloft.com/tv-series/the-bear-s02e04-honeydew-transcript/ |access-date=2025-10-06 |website=Scraps from the loft |language=en-GB}}</ref> (Lionel Boyce played the same position for El Camino College in Torrance, California.)<ref>{{Cite web |last=Vognar |first=Chris |date=2024-07-30 |title=As Chef Marcus on 'The Bear,' Lionel Boyce is all about keeping calm through the chaos |url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/awards/story/2024-07-30/lionel-boyce-chef-marcus-the-bear |access-date=2025-12-22 |website=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US}}</ref>

After college he worked at a phone company and then at McDonald's before looking for a new job when his mom got sick.<ref name=":3" /> He was hired by Mikey Berzatto at the Beef, where Marcus had previously been a customer.<ref name=":3" /> Originally tasked with baking the French rolls for the Italian beef sandwiches, over the course of season one he becomes fascinated with donuts and begins to study pastry; his notes on donuts include references to "Dominique Ansel's cronut, but also hints at creations from Pierre Hermé and Christina Tosi."<ref name="Zafar-2024">{{Cite web |last=Zafar |first=Mishal |date=2024-11-08 |title=10 Mind-Blowing Hidden Details You Missed In ''The Bear'' That Change Everything |url=https://thoughtcatalog.com/mishal-zafar/2024/11/10-mind-blowing-hidden-details-you-missed-in-the-bear-that-change-everything/ |access-date=2026-04-05 |website=Thought Catalog |language=en-US}}</ref>

[[File:Princess Cake.jpg|thumb|left|Princess cake, one of the desserts Marcus prepares for the Bear]] After Marcus became a pastry chef, Carmy and Sydney sent Marcus to Noma in Copenhagen, Denmark, to train with Chef Luca (Will Poulter), a former colleague of Carmy's at the show's fictionalized three-star version of Chicago's Ever.<ref name=":2" /> The training was hugely successful and Marcus was named one of ''Food & Wine'' magazine's Best New Chefs within six months of the opening of the Bear restaurant.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Radish |first=Christina |date=2025-06-28 |title="It's Not Just a Clean, Perfect Circle Where Things Work Out": The Bear's Lionel Boyce on Carmy's Finale Decision and the Possibility of a Season 5 |url=https://collider.com/the-bear-season-4-finale-lionel-boyce/ |access-date=2025-09-19 |website=Collider |language=en}}</ref>

Compared to the restaurant's raucous front-of-house manager Richie Jerimovich, who is forever entangled in a shouting match with his cousin Carmy, Marcus has a comparatively quiet, introverted personality.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Tang |first=Terence |date=2023-09-23 |title=10 TV Characters That Prove Introverts Are Great Too |url=https://screenrant.com/best-introvert-tv-characters/ |access-date=2025-09-19 |website=ScreenRant |language=en}}</ref> Marcus' fear, confessed at his roommate's ex-boss' wedding, is that he might lose the creative spark that animates his work.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Jones |first=C. T. |date=2025-07-09 |title=How Lionel Boyce and Ayo Edebiri Wrote 'The Bear' Season 4's Standout Episode |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/tv-movies/tv-movie-features/the-bear-lionel-boyce-interview-season-4-episode-worms-1235379709/ |access-date=2025-09-19 |magazine=Rolling Stone |language=en-US}}</ref> Marcus becomes very close with Chef Carmen's sister and the restaurant's business manager, Natalie Berzatto Katinsky, and he is the first person at the restaurant she trusts to hold her new baby Sophie when she comes back to work after maternity leave.<ref name=":0" /> He is also close friends with Chef Sydney.<ref name=":4" /> Boyce told an interviewer in 2024, "Carmy, Syd, Tina, Richie, Ebra, and everybody in that kitchen is now his found family."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Richlin |first=Harrison |date=2024-07-07 |title=Lionel Boyce on Chemistry Between Marcus and Sydney on 'The Bear': 'Are We Friends? Are We Not Friends?' |url=https://www.indiewire.com/news/general-news/lionel-boyce-marcus-sydney-relationship-the-bear-1235023546/ |access-date=2025-10-29 |website=IndieWire |language=en-US}}</ref>

== Family == {{Tree chart/start|align=right}} {{Tree chart| |M1|y|M2| |M1=''Marcus<nowiki>'</nowiki> father''|M2=Angela Brooks{{break}}{{small|(1956–2023)}}}} {{Tree chart| | | |,|^|.| }} {{Tree chart| |C1| |C2|C1=Marcus Brooks|C2=''Younger brother''}} {{Tree chart/end}} Marcus was raised by a single mother; she died of a chronic illness (which had rendered her non-verbal) on the evening of the Bear's soft launch.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Jackson |first=Destiny |date=2024-08-14 |title='The Bear' Star Lionel Boyce Talks Marcus' Growth As A Character And His Emotional Journey: "He Has Grief Turning Into Inspiration" |url=https://deadline.com/2024/08/lionel-boyce-interview-the-bear-season-2-1236040228/ |access-date=2025-09-19 |website=Deadline |language=en-US}}</ref> ''The Bear'' creator Christopher Storer told Boyce in conversation that her diagnosis was amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hailu |first=Selome |date=2023-06-30 |title='The Bear': How Ramy Youssef and Lionel Boyce Crafted Marcus' Copenhagen Adventure |url=https://variety.com/2023/tv/news/the-bear-marcus-copenhagen-episode-ramy-youssef-lionel-boyce-1235656165/ |access-date=2025-10-03 |website=Variety |language=en-US}}</ref> Marcus' stoic but heartfelt eulogy for his mother opens the season three episode "Doors."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kumar |first=Shayama Krishna |date=2024-07-06 |title=Lionel Boyce talks 'The Bear' season 3 and his emotional eulogy scene |url=https://arab.news/6czpg |access-date=2025-09-19 |website=Arab News |language=en}}</ref> According to Brooks, during the remainder of the season he seeks "to turn his grief into inspiration."<ref name=":1" /> Marcus' father was absent for most of his life but the dad reaches out after the death of Marcus' mom; Marcus and Carmy bond during season four over their absentee fathers and how their work family sometimes fills the gaps of loneliness found in half-empty homes.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Darwish |first=Meaghan |date=2025-06-26 |title=Will 'The Bear' Return? 11 Questions We Need Answered in Season 5 |url=https://www.tvinsider.com/gallery/the-bear-season-5-questions-carmy-leaving-sydney-richie-marcus-natalie/ |access-date=2025-09-19 |website=TV Insider |language=en-US}}</ref> Marcus has a younger brother,<ref name=":3" /> and a cousin Terrell.<ref>"Braciole" transcript</ref>

== Costuming == The costume designer put Marcus in a beanie for the pilot, and when the cast reconvened to shoot the rest of season one, two costume options that attracted the attention of Boyce were sneakers and a teal beanie.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Menon |first=Radhika |date=2022-08-10 |title=How The Bear Injected Personality Into the Standard Kitchen Uniform |url=https://www.vulture.com/article/the-bear-costume-details.html |access-date=2025-10-18 |website=Vulture |language=en}}</ref> The beanies he wears to work most of the time are "never super bright colors, which blend in just enough with the show's use of blues, greens, and jewel tones. This seems to be a common pattern in costume and highlighted things in the series."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Lindberg |first=Kennedy |date=2024-08-04 |title=The Bear's 10 Best Outfits & Fashion Moments |url=https://screenrant.com/the-bear-best-outfits-fashion-moments/ |access-date=2026-01-06 |website=ScreenRant |language=en}}</ref>

Brooks wears a lot of streetwear brands including Carhartt, Jordan, and Fear of God.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Rikhy |first=Trishna |date=2023-07-12 |title=The Heart of 'The Bear' Isn't Food—It's Fashion |url=https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/tv/a44496237/the-bear-clothing-where-to-buy-costume-designer-interview/ |access-date=2025-10-18 |website=Esquire |language=en-US}}</ref> As of season two, his T-shirts were sourced from Joe Freshgoods, Off-White, and Aimé Leon Dore.<ref name="Complex-2023">{{Cite web |last=Destefano |first=Mike |date=2023-06-30 |title=The Bear Costume Designer Courtney Wheeler Interview |url=https://www.complex.com/style/a/mike-destefano/the-bear-courtney-wheeler |access-date=2025-10-29 |website=Complex |language=en}}</ref> Marcus owns and wears a substantial collection of New Balance sneakers.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Cheung |first=Adam |date=2024-07-04 |title=The Bear's Marcus Brooks Has a Gourmet Collection of New Balance Grails |url=https://www.gq.com/story/the-bear-season-3-marcus-new-balance |access-date=2025-09-19 |website=GQ |language=en-US}}</ref> In season three he wore a Tissot Powermatic 80 watch, and in season four he wore a Casio G-Shock watch."<ref>{{Cite web |last=McCreddie-Doak |first=Laura |date=2025-07-07 |title=In The Bear Season 4, the Watches are Deeply Personal |url=https://www.gq.com/story/the-bear-story-behind-watches-season-four |access-date=2025-10-26 |website=GQ |language=en-US}}</ref>

== References == {{reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brooks, Marcus}} Category:African-American characters in television Category:American male characters in television Category:The Bear (TV series) characters Category:Comedy television characters Category:Drama television characters Category:Fictional characters from Chicago Category:Television characters introduced in 2022